1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a digital hearing impairment simulation method and a hearing aid evaluation method, and more particularly, to a digital hearing impairment simulation method and a hearing aid evaluation method using the same according to which a clinical test performed on actual hearing impaired persons can be replaced by one performed on normal persons, and also the performance of a hearing aid can be easily evaluated since the result of the clinical test is predictable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a study of hearing impairment, or evaluation and comparison of hearing aids, a hearing test is directly performed on hearing impaired persons and a clinical test of wearing a hearing aid is performed. That is, in the clinical test, impaired persons are allowed to listen to diverse sounds or voice in a soundproof chamber or a hearing test room, and their responses to the sound or voice are checked and evaluated. However, since there are many types of hearing impairment, and the type of hearing impairment and characteristics of the individual vary greatly, experiments on hearing impairment must be performed based on an individual or the type of hearing impairment, which requires enormous time and effort. One method for evaluating the capability of a hearing aid is to evaluate the capability of the hearing aid itself, and another is to evaluate the hearing aid in use by directly applying the hearing aid to impaired persons. The method for evaluating a hearing aid in use has disadvantages in that: 1) a long-term test is not easy since most impaired persons are aged, 2) communication between hearing impaired persons and testers is not easy, 3) due to diverse hearing impairment types and the difference of individual hearing characteristics, it is difficult to group similar hearing impairments, and 4) impaired persons may respond uncertainly to the test due to symptoms of hearing impairment.